You ever meet someone and you feel like you've known him for a long time?

Mike Holm (Chicago, IL) has a great personality for poker. Not afraid to joke or laugh at the table and seems down to earth and friendly with the players.

It's Mike's first time and Borgata and he's loving it. "My goal is to cash in every tournament I play in". He cashed yesterday and now again today her in Event #13.

Holm's main goal of course is to cash in the WPT Championship. That's why he and a few friends he brought in from Chicago are really here. Mike played in the first WPT event last year at Bellagio where the Royal Flush girls made their debut. He managed to get some TV airtime with them and even bought them all some chocolate covered strawberries. Hmmm. Sounds like a MOST INTERESTING MAN IN THE WORLD commercial.

Normally Jason Ginex would snap call an open shove holding KK. But we've been playing hand-for-hand for close to a half-hour now. Everybody wants to make the money. Do you fold kings on the bubble? Could you? After a healthy tank session, Ginex decides to call.

Jason Ginex K♣ K♥ vs. Opponent's 7♣ 7♥

Board runs: 2♣ A♣ 9♣ 2♥ 6♥. Kings hold up.

Opponent had Jason covered by 7500 and was forced all in the very next hand as the big blind was 8000.

Surprisingly the entire table folds around to Justin Friedman in the small blind who calls without looking.

Opponent never looked either and so flipped over one card, the K♦ . Justin flips an A♠ which caused opponent to moan, about to accept his fate.

Things got interesting with our final three who each made their share of great plays.

It was anybody's game once Stephen Gallant (Raleigh, NC) doubled his short stack, then doubled up again cracking KK with a set of threes.

Brian Weaver (Elm City, NC) scored five bounties and busted out in 3rd for $10,009.2nd place $16,143 honors went to Stephen Grant who scooped 6 bouties and was as low as 14,000 during day 1.

But once again our big winner was Stanley Combs who took down his largest Borgata cash ever with the $29,058 win along with 8 bounties. A hit and run for Combs who has to visit his Mom after being away for a year.

First Brian "Paul" Weaver (Richmond, VA) folded sixes, then had kings cracked, then gets aces in what would be his final hand and had them fall as well.

Weaver fell short of his first place goal but will smile all the way to the bank for his 3rd place $10,009 haul.

Paul currently resides in Elm City, NC. He has four kids and earned 5 bounties. Hey, that's at least one for each kid.

Paul was happy with his play yesterday and today claiming he never was all in with the worst hand. He does regret folding pocket sixes because he would have knocked Stephen out and secured at least second place money.

A big hand for the final three that came pretty close to all three players going all-in pre flop.

Chip leader Stanley Combs opened for 200,000. He just used the same bet last hand holding K-9 off. So Brian Weaver calls. Stephen Gallant in the big blind ships the remainder of his 560,000 total chips. Stanley snap calls so fast that it stops Brian in his tracks.

Brian folds and shows wired sixes.

Stanley tables A-K off vs. Stephen's red pair of deuces.

Board runs: 9-4-9-Q-8

Stephen doubles through the chip leader.

Weaver was disappointed because he folded the best hand and it would have knocked out the short stack Stephen.

Josh Birkis (small blind) and George Cicak (big blind) got all the chips in the middle.

George Cicak

George held A9 offsuit and was ahead of Josh's A7 suited. Then the board came A 7 2 5 K and Josh made Aces-up to take the pot. He's now up to ~2 million and once again the chip leader.George Cicak (Randolph, NJ) finished in 6th place, earning $5,273.

Russell Crane (Howell, NJ) scoops another pot with AK vs AQ to take his stack to 225k and is one of three players with more than 200k. Three seats in his left is Paul Spitzberg (Tenafly, NJ) who's at 215k.

Stuck in the middle are John Campbell (Hummelstown, PA) and Jim Morton (Charlottesville, VA), both who just joined the table. Morton says his claim to fame is that he started the day at table 13 in event 13 on Sept. 13th.

The other big stack in the room is James English (Fort Lauderdale, FL) who jokingly says he's, "outplaying everyone at the table."

After five hours of play Greg Merritt beats Paul Mirabello to close out the first round of the heads up tournament. After losing the first match, Merritt rallies to take the next two and is the last of the 32 remaining players into the second round.

Nimer Ltaif raised to 55k on the button. Josh Brikis was in the big blind and after checking out Nimer's stack, (about 250k behind) Josh moved in. Nimer folded.

A few hands later, Josh opened for 50k and action folded to Nimer's big blind. He announced he was all-in (251k straight). Josh called, showing A4 off. Nimer held AJ. The board came Q 8 2 K T and Nimer took the pot with Broadway. He doubled up to 530k.

It's good to be Russell Crane (Howell, NJ). Not only is he a good player, but when the deck cooperates, look out. "Ace, aces and more aces," says the 2011 Spring Poker Open Champion.

Crane says he's doubled-up twice with pocket aces and has gotten one other time to take his stack to 120k, one of the bigger stacks in the room.

In addition to winning $277,000 in the spring, Crane also won the Borgata Deep Stack Double Play in August for another $149,000. Pretty nice run so far this year with lots of play left on the calendar.

After one player limped, George Cicak raised to 56k. Josh Brikis (bb) kicked it up to 200k straight. The limper folded and George shoved. Josh called all-in, showing AK offsuit. George held pocket Jacks.

The board came K K 4 Q and Josh doubled up to ~1.6 million. George was left with ~870k.

George moved in on a board of 8 4 3 K 5 with three diamonds and moved Stephen Gallant off his hand. That pot put George up to 1.1 million. Stephen was left with ~700k.

They got cards in the air at the final table and Anthony Potis (Scranton, PA) wasted no time getting his chips in the middle. He min-raised and got re-raised by George Cicak. Anthony shoved and George called.

Anthony Potis

George had AK and was dominating Anthony's AQ. The flop brought and Jack with two blanks. A Queen on the turn gave Anthony the lead with a pair of Queens, but the Ten on the river gave George Broadway and the pot.

Anthony was sent packing in 10th place. He will collect $1,399 to go with the 7 bounties ($700) he picked up along the way. That should buy a round for the house back home in Scranton, where Anthony owns the Brickyard Ale House.

PLOh-Yeah!Event 11 is in the books after running 16 hours.When the dust settled it was chipslinger and seven year poker pro, Paul Greim (Helmetta, NJ) who picked off 20-25 players and collected every one of the 2,800,000 PLO tournament chips.

Players began with 20,000 and all were vying for part of the $49,000 total buy-in.

Famous faces in the field included: James Boyd, Keith Crowder, Paul Spitzberg,and Billy Seymour.

Of course only the top 18 cashed.And 18th place Terrance O’Connell barely cashed as the bubble took over an entire level to break then during hand-to-hand, two players from two different tables busted out simultaneously.

Three Alan’s were playing on the final three tables.Alan Marshal finished in 11th place while the last Allan standing was (the other) Allan Barrie who earned $4,515 for third place.

Second place went to Gregory Kolo who thought he was destined for third place.Kolo collects $7,842 for his marathon day’s work.

Everyone had fun throughout the poker tournament PLO grind but it seemed our first time champion Paul Greim had the most fun.Sure he won the $14,258 prize but the 27 year old lit up like a Christmas tree after seeing the Borgata Poker Open trophy and sunglasses.

After playing poker professionally for seven years, Paul Greim (Helmetta, NJ) just took down his first live tournament first place prize.

Sure he was happy to score the $14,258 but wasn't surprised. In fact he texted his friend at 9pm and told her the money he owed her is coming because he's gonna win the tournament.

Paul's predictions came true as he knocked out player after player on the final table. "I must have knocked out 20 to 25 players today" admitted Greim.

Greim's strategy as he simply stated to me - he pushed chips in, people called, he pulled pots back.

Some advice to other players if they want to win...Paul recommends a beverage or two from Borgata Babes. "I've been drinking since 7:08pm" said Paul.

As most men are excited by $14,258 Paul was more excited when the trophy made an appearance on the table. "I haven't won a trophy since high school soccer" said the 27 year old pro. He was digging the Blue Shark Optics too.

Congratulations to Paul Greim who had the table laughing, then assassinated all of them and had the last laugh.

Two tables, two players with pocket jacks, both lose, one bubbles, the other cashes.

An anonymous player is all in for 57k with pocket jacks and is rundown by A8 when an ace flops. Two tables over, Andy Sherman-Ash (East Lyne, CT) is all in for 110k with his pocket jacks and loses a coin flip to the AK of Aaron Massey (Chicago, IL).

Because Sherman-Ash has more chips before the hand started, the anonymous player finishes on the bubble in 37th place and Sherman-Ash is the first player to cash in 36th for $646.

Hand-for-hand play lasted 34 minutes, half of the time is going back on the clock as play continues with the blinds at 3k/6k/500 ante

Two players who made deep runs in the 2010 WSOP Main Event are on the bubble and with downtime between hands are recalling how one knocked the other out.

Josh Brikis (Pittsburgh, PA) finished 55th after Jerry Payne (Centerville, OH) sent him to the rail with J♣ 10♣ vs A♣ 6♦ on Day 7. "I was ahead before the flop," says Brikis as the two reminisce about their 6-figure paydays with Payne coming in 42nd place.